How to Make Outdoor Harvest Decorations

Decorating Your Yard for Harvest Season

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  Use harvest season decorations to cast an inviting spell on your home. Pumpkins, mini-pumpkins, squash and gourds are very commonly used as symbols of the season, and come in different colors, shapes and sizes to add interest. A large uncarved pumpkin will last a long time and look nice placed singly on a small table by the front door, with a basket of dried leaves, pinecones and Indian corn sitting next to it. Mini-pumpkins and gourds also look great stacked in a basket.

  As Halloween approaches, carve the pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern if you like. Or cut the tops off mini pumpkins and small squash, and dig out enough of the insides to place a votive or small candle in to make harvest luminaries, as suggested by Dot Com Women.

  Another cute idea for fall decorating is to find an autumn theme planter or other container that will hold water, and place a block of water-soaked oasis in it. Country Living.com suggests that you make an arrangement of fall leaves, plant foliage, rose hips on branches, berries on branches and fall blooming flowers, such as chrysanthemums. Place this autumn hued arrangement on a table by your door. Scatter a few real or silk fall leaves and a mini-pumpkin or two near the arrangement. Be sure to keep the oasis moist for a long-lasting arrangement.

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  Create a fall harvest yard centerpiece with some larger decorations. Choose a spot in your yard where passers-by and visitors will notice it. Stack a few bales of hay together to create a backdrop. Make or purchase a scarecrow to sit on the bales, or to stand next to them. Place a fake crow on his shoulder, or sit a fat pumpkin on one of the bales of hay and position the crow on the pumpkin. The Fun Times Guide suggests placing a few stalks of corn behind the hay bales. You can tie them with fall colored ribbon to add some color, or weave grapevine, ivy or dried berries into them if you like.

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  Decorate the area around your mailbox if it is clearly visible from the street. Tie corn stalks to the mailbox post with sturdy twine. Tie orange, red or yellow ribbon around the stalks about two thirds of the way up. Add some sprigs of dried berries, or secure miniature Indian corn to the ribbons. Place a large pumpkin on each side at the base of the corn stalks.